TAMPA — For all the power in the Yankees’ lineup, which smashed a major league-record 267 home runs last season, it lacks the balance that is often a trademark of standout teams. That’s because nearly all of the Yankees’ power-hitting everyday players hit from the right side, from Aaron Judge to Giancarlo Stanton to Gary…

As the reigning World Series champions, of course, the Astros have survived that mistake. Their general manager, Jeff Luhnow, said he had learned from it. “I think we have more tools available today that would help us validate what he claimed,” Luhnow said in an interview this summer. “I’ve had a lot of players come…

MIAMI — It was all familiar for Giancarlo Stanton when he arrived at Marlins Park on Tuesday, signed a couple of autographs, posed for a photo and then walked into the players’ entrance at the ballpark that had been his home for six years. But then, instead of taking the familiar left turn and heading…